"Please," I was not against begging. I knew I couldn't beat him, not in a fair fight and not when he had a weapon. "You don't have to kill me."
"I do, because if I don't, something else will and you'll pray that I killed you. We don't have a lot of time."
He seemed freaked out, almost as if he didn't want to do it. His hands were shaking and his eyes held something akin to regret but then again, he was the one holding the weapon.
"What are you talking about? You don't have to do this," I continued slowly. "Did someone put you up to this? I can help you."
"I'm sorry, I really liked you. You actually treated me like a person."
He took a step forward when the door slammed open. I could barely figure out what was going on. One second, he was standing over me and the next, he was being thrown into a table. The table shattered underneath his weight but he rushed to his feet. Blood dripped from cuts in his arm and at the side of his head but somehow, he was standing.
His eyes were hard and angry as he tried to drag himself to his feet. I looked over at the person who saved me, surprised to see Caine standing there. "Are you going to stand there princess or are you coming with me?"
"She's going to die," my other guard hissed. I still didn't know his name. "This is what's best for her. I am under orders."
"Try me," Caine growled. "Lay a hand on her and I'll kill you."
He laughed darkly. "I'm dead anyway."
"She comes with me," Caine's voice held no room for argument.
For a second, they had an intense staring match. I thought the guard would attack but at the last minute, he nodded in resignation. It was almost poetic to see how quickly he could go from looking scary and terrifying to tired.
"Good luck to you, you'll both need it," I watched as he raised the knife to his throat and sliced.
A scream pierced through the air and it took me a minute to realize that it had come from me. I wanted to rush over to him, I knew basic first aid, put pressure on the wound and get him to a doctor but Caine's arms were around me.
"He's gone," he told me. "We don't have much time, come with me."
"He's bleeding."
"I know that, and you will be too if you don't come with me."
Caine dragged me past the dead body and towards my bed. I watched in shock as he rummaged through my clothes until he found what suited him. It was a pair of black cargo pants, boots and a long sleeved shirt. He tossed them at me.
"Change now," I just stood there staring at him and he groaned. "Change or I'll fucking do it for you."
'Why?"
"What do you think can make a grown man kill himself? We don't have time, people will come searching soon. Come with me, please or you're going to die here."
The sirens were still blaring, the red lights were still flashing. I couldn't understand a thing going on but I nodded. I changed as quickly as I could and returned to the living room to find Caine already with a bag. I didn't bother asking what was inside.
He grabbed my bicep and pulled me out of the room. Once we got out of the sleeping area, I realized just how much of my home was in a mess. People were running around frantically, there were guards with bloody knives in their hands, maids with their own weapons too and a few people like me.
"What is going on?" I asked Caine but he wouldn't respond. He dragged me over to a group of soldiers just like him.
They were all clothed in all black leathers. They looked me over and then turned to him. "She can't come."
"She's coming with me," I had no idea why he was defending me but I knew it was wise to keep my mouth shut. "We just need to get out."
"Get out?" I asked. "Where are we going? My father is-"
"Your father is gone," Caine snapped. "The higher level officials have all gone, they left us here to deal with the mess."
"My father would never leave me."
"Welcome to the real world, princess. You can either shut up and come with me or you can stay and let them kill you off."
"Who are they?"
The guard in front of him laughed. "That growled you said you heard is the least of your worries right now."
I had more to ask but I heard a blood curling scream from far away. The ground shook beneath me as if something hard slammed into it but this time, it wasn't stopping. It took me a minute but I realized the ground wasn't shaking, it felt like something was slamming into it, like something was running.
A growl pierced the air and I thought there was chaos before but the entire place went to shit.
Caine pushed past the guard he was speaking to and dragged me down the hall to the storage rooms. We passed litters of bodies, soldiers, maids and people with slits in their throat. I knew that for as long as I lived, I would not be able to get the sight out of my head but Caine brushed past them like it was just another day to him.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my voice barely over a whisper.
"We're almost there."
A low growl had him stopping in his tracks.
Unlike the last one, this one sounded very close by.